Federal Health Minister Mark Holland says provincial and territorial health plans will cover primary care provided by nurse practitioners, pharmacists and midwives.
Holland says regulated health-care professionals who aren’t doctors will be able to bill the government for medically necessary services that would otherwise be provided by a physician.
The minister says the changes are part of a new interpretation of the Canada Health Act that takes effect on April 1, 2026.
He says the move is needed because some patients are paying out of pocket for medically necessary care, including at some private nurse practitioner clinics.
Holland says charging patients for those services isn’t consistent with universal health care and nurse practitioners should instead be able to bill the health-care system the same way doctors do….